Facebook is offering a functionality called Facebook Connect, which allows third party websites to use Facebook as authentication. I was playing a game called "Die Siedler Online" (The Settlers Online aka Castle Empires Online) from Blue Byte / Ubisoft which used this Facebook Connect functionality as option. Sounded good, one click to login via Facebook, instead of having to type in a username and password every time. Only of course now that Facebook disabled my account, I can't login to Die Siedler Online any more either.

I wrote to the Blue Byte / Ubisoft customer support to get access back to my Die Siedler Online account, but got a reply that they were unable to help me. Basically access is blocked by the application on my Facebook account, and unless I delete that application on Facebook, I can't play Die Siedler Online any more. But of course I *can't* delete the Facebook application, because Facebook blocks me from accessing my account. So in spite of not having violated any of the Terms of Service of Blue Byte / Ubisoft, I've been effectively banned from their game as well.

Moral of the story: Do not use the Facebook Connect option on other websites. If ever you get into trouble with Facebook (and they can ban you for playing games with strangers), you also lose access to all other sites you connect to via Facebook Connect. Big Brother is not only watching you, he is actually controlling what you can do on the internet.

I doubt anybody banned from Facebook actually planned it. And I likewise doubt that many people did read the Facebook ToS closely enough to notice rules like "Facebook can ban you if you invite strangers to be your neighbors in Facebook games".

The day Google disables my account I will be screwed by an order of magnitude more. I'd lose all my mail, my blog, my contacts, my Tobold identity. And people are surprised that I don't put any of my Real Life stuff on the internet.

They never wrote me that they accepted my identity, but they didn't carry through their initial threat of blocking my Google+ account. I have a faint suspicion that my case was decided by an algorithm instead of a person, and that algorithm accepted the links I sent "proving" my Tobold identity.

Eh, I generally don't use the Facebook connect thing anyway, just because I don't like the idea of applications pulling my personal data indiscriminately.

Course, that's also why I don't use applications at all. Never particularly appreciated being able to fill out personal information when creating an account for a game before Facebook, really. If you had to put in all the information you had on your Facebook manually into a form to create, say, a Battle.net account? Most people would suddenly feel really queasy about giving all that away. But since it's automated...

Yes... Your fatal mistake was treating facebook games as the games they're disguised as instead of the ponzi schemes they're meant to be. How dare you inadvertently subvert commercial gain for the sake of your entertainment and enjoyment - that's totally violating the spirit of your agreement with the 'game' publishers.

I TOO guard my anonymity with great care. In my professional life it would not be good for people to trace my random posts on the internet.

With stunts like this FB is setting up a very monopolistic circular problem.

To wit: -Game companies will use FB for authentication and exposure via FB networking-Game cos will do this because it's "Free" from FB-Gamers will utilize FB for networking / games because it's "free"-Game cos and FB will sell virtual goods to games "not free" but "no tangible value"-FB will be the sole arbiter of access to said virtual goods of no value but which gamers paid money for

So by making a "free" network paid for by advertising that is ever more focused not on groups but individuals...

FB is decreasing internet choice AND becoming a monopoly over entertainment delivery.

Net Net - FB is attempting to be a BBC or ABC "network" with stovepipe offerings and rigid affiliation agreements.

All the hollywood types were swearing to me that people were trying to rebuild "networks" on the internet but I always wondered what angle they would play.